In The Mood for Love Remains the Ultimate Fashion Romance

Hey Polka's Hong Kong Midnight Dress

Hey Polka's Hong Kong Midnight Dress

Variation of Hey Polka's Hong Kong Midnight Dress

Wong Kar Wai’s romantic masterpiece, In the Mood for Love, begins with a pronouncement. “It is a restless moment” reads the title cards that flashes before the main characters are introduced. The film, which premiered 20 years ago today at the Cannes Film Festival, could be summed up with those words, though its costumes do an excellent job of telling the story, too. In Kar Wai’s world, mise-en-scene conveys as much information as dialogue and character’s clothing choices reveal sides of their personality they never express verbally. The quiet longing of Tony Leung’s journalist Chow Mo-Wan wouldn’t be the same without his buttoned-up wardrobe of suits and floral ties. Likewise, the sensuality of Maggie Cheung’s otherwise reserved secretary Su Li-zhen aka Mrs. Chan would not be as evident sans those immaculate Cheongsam dresses and bold red trench.

From the very first act, clothing plays a role in the film’s trajectory.

In the Mood for Love dresses: the complete list of 20 qipaos (cheongsams). Link.

The era defining aesthetic of “In the Mood for Love” Wong Kar Wai’s 2000 masterwork has influenced filmmakers ranging from Barry Jenkins to Sofia Coppola—and innumerable teens on TikTok. New Yorker.